Leah Stirewalt

I love Saturdays…especially when they’re spent from the comforts of my own home. Today has begun perfectly! Here’s a glimpse…

God awakened me. Not the alarm clock.

I did a few of my normal morning routines…potty. scale. drink. TMI? Ha!

Then…I opened one of the blinds in the bedroom, and God’s glorious morning light shown through. The sun’s rays exploded on my face as I climbed back into bed and soaked in the warmth from the light He produces.

I put in the earbuds to my ipod and loaded up my favorite praise and worship tunes and simply sat back with a huge smile upon my face as I drank in thoughts of my great God. My truly magnificient, wonderful, amazingly good, merciful, compassionate, loving God.

With my spirit now in check, I opened His Word and read, studied, chewed on, and swallowed the stories of old that give me hope for today. I never tire of reading God’s glory revealed through the miraculous pregnancy he gave Abraham and Sarah in their old ages of 100 and 90, respectively. I read that story every year, and each year…I’m reminded that NOTHING…NOTHING…NOTHING is impossible with the God of the universe.

I continue studying His Word a little longer, allowing the words to penetrate my heart, mind, and soul. Then, I return to the music on my ipod. God speaks to people in different ways, and there are certain avenues that create an atmosphere that allow His children to hear from Him greater than in other settings. That’s how I am with my praise music. He often speaks to me through song. Today is no exception.

As He speaks to me this morning, I start whispering back to Him. Sometimes, my whispers get a little louder, but often…it’s just a whisper this morning. It’s not always like this, but there are days that the sheer presence of God surrounding me can cause nothing more than a whisper to come from my lips. He overwhelms me…in a good way!

I continue speaking to Him. He speaks back. Not audibly…just in the deep recesses of my spirit in a silent language that belongs only to Him and me. This will continue throughout the day, but nothing as sweetly as our early morning “talks”.

I am so full…spiritually speaking. This is simply a little piece of paradise to me. My Saturday morning paradise.

Good evening bloggy friends!

I just realized that I posted several days ago that I’m usually a morning blogger with an occasional evening post or two. Well!!!!! I guess I just proved that’s NOT the case this week. I’d love to get back into my morning blog routine, but I can’t seem to get there right now. Spending lots of time with Jesus these days! So…bear with me!

I was so excited to get a sweet email from a friend of mine in Africa a couple of days ago – Pastor David – the dad of the one and only Baby Grace. THE baby that has been the center of many of my blog posts since June. They’re back in Liberia after having spent several months here in the states with their miracle baby. I’m not going to repeat that whole story here, but if you’re new to my blog…go back and read some of the prior posts about this adventure! It’ll knock your socks off to see how amazing God truly has been throughout this journey!

Anyway…I just had to tell you THE MOST COOLEST (I know…I know…that’s not grammatically correct) thing he shared with me in the email. He said that his family and other African friends of theirs are praying for me! This was not just a blanket “we’re praying for you” statement. They are praying over a VERY SPECIFIC thing I shared with them while they were visiting with me in my home in NC. Friends, I was brought to tears when I read that. I shared a prayer request very near and dear to my heart while they were here in November. So near and dear that I’m not really ready to share it on my blog – maybe sometime later this year. Anyway, they were ecstatic that they could do this for me. They agreed to pray then, and they’ve not forgotten. They told me they have nothing else to offer, but they CAN and WILL pray! They live in a poverty-stricken nation. They’ve seen depravity at it’s worst. But, they know the same miracle-working God I know, and they know that prayer works! They’ve been continually praying over this request, and they are just as committed to praying for it as they were for the healing for their daughter. And…I witnessed first-hand what those prayers led to. I’m ecstatic! Knowing that my Christian brothers and sisters in Africa are praying for me blesses me more than you can imagine!